Endgame Airplane System

What is the best possible system you could use for airline travel?

Just curious what you could do given no limit on funds and dropping practicality. Not asking what you would actually bring but what you think would be the best. Also no DIY except for a custom carrying case.

Here are some obvious considerations:

-everything must be battery powered
-everything must fit in one standard size carry on
-no treatment of the airplane itself is allowed
-there is constant background noise you need to deal with.

battery powered doesn't mean you can't use AC powered stuff. If you can squeeze in a power inverter then gah-bless you.

Right away it seems like I have to go with IEMs or noise-canceling headphones. Open headphones are disqualified and I am not even sure closed headphones would be enough to block out noise.

 

My favourite would probably be:
Bose QC35 for NC only
Andro/UERM for listening, plugged into your favourite DAC/AMP

The Bose QC25 were big enough for me to use my UERMs without discomfort when I tried them in a store. I don't have one of the Bose ANC headphones.
Right now I still use my GO450/Leckerton on planes with my UERM, but I'm sure there are better things out there now.

 

The Sony zx2 or the zx100 has enough battery stamina to last the longest of the long haul flights. Not many other daps/phones can achieve that kind of battery life without using additional power banks. Both have excellent sound quality for iem and small overear headphone.

The tour de force in passive noise isolation is still the etymotic iem with triple flange tip.

 

You mean wearing Bose headphones over your IEMs? That's a pretty good concept! You get the benefits of noise cancelling along with the quality of a good IEM.

 

12" Retina MacBook w/ USB-C hub, external 2TB SSD, feeding a Chord Mojo into ER4-XR with triple-flange tips.

There are, for sure, other IEMs that I'd prefer over the Etymotics ... but since they don't block noise as well I'd lose the benefit on an actual flight. I prefer the SE846 or 1964 U12s, but neither block noise as well. Can't name a better portable source than the Mojo. Not saying there isn't one, but I haven't found it yet - certainly doesn't have "Astell & Kern" printed on it if there is something out there.

Transport is largely immaterial ... more about capacity than anything. An AK120 into the Mojo, via Sys Concepts optical works as well as the Mac, just less fluid in navigation (and, bizarrely, has shorter battery life).

...

Need to try the Shure electrostatics ... but imagine isolation will limit them.

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Could go completely nuts ... but other options I have in mind might improve SQ ... and permanently damage my hearing in doing so!

 

Why a retina MacBook? Wouldn't a Macbook Air give you significantly longer battery life?

 

Bakoon HPA-21 comes to mind since it runs on battery power. Don't know how it matches with IEMs though.

 

Of course there's the GOV2+, which also runs on battery power and has balanced out.

 

At best, in practice, I'd get an extra hour.

My fiancé has a current Air, and it really doesn't do any better in my actual usage scenarios.

Size and weight are usually more pressing concerns for me.

Also, it's a very rare occurrence that I don't fly first-class, so in-seat power is pretty much assured. Unless, of course, I'm on some connecting flight into some third-world shit-hole (which includes a distressingly large, and sadly increasing, number of US cities). In-seat power be damned then ... I'm usually lucky that the bloody plane has wings, never mind seats. You've seen battered up DC-3's in various adventure movies? Pure bloody luxury for some excursions!

And, finally, since if I have to have a laptop with me, which I try to avoid whenever possible, using either my Retina MacBook or Retina MacBook Pro means not having to deal with the relatively terrible resolution of the Air. That said, my fiancé can't read my screen ... but then I have 20/5 vision and she's 20/20, corrected, on a good day.

 

Interesting question. Kind of like playing the "what would I buy if I won the lottery" daydream game. Problem is, beyond just making a list of absurdly expensive or impractical solutions, I have a hard time playing it. I am not a business or luxury traveler - ie my trips are not funded by third parties or focused on creating the most comfy/lux experience - so practicality/efficiency are very much a part of how I travel. In fact, because I am a geek, the game/challenge of balancing comfort/luxury with practicality within my own arbitrary framework is a large part of the fun of travel. I am a pretty staunch "no checked bags" type of traveler. When I travel internationally for fun, it is usually for 2 weeks at a time and I take a carry-on sized rolling bag and a small day pack. I also like using AirBnB, so typical conveniences available at hotels like luggage storage or forwarding are not as readily available. All this is to say, I am constantly on the lookout for the most versatile gear I can get so that I can carry less stuff with me when I travel. That is the frame of reference for my endgame air travel setup. I am headed to Japan in a month, and for the first time am forgoing a laptop/tablet of any sort. Just going to have my smartphone as my sole entertainment/communication/computing device. As such, tacking on even a small battery powered device like a GOV2+ so that I can use "better" headphones on the plane doesn't fit into my paradigm. I have some QC15s that I have loved in the past to deal with airplane noise and give me quite reasonable sound (considering the NC and the listening environment), but I am hoping to go even smaller this time by borrowing/buying some QC20s. So my endgame setup for air travel would be my smartphone to some QC20s. Even if things go well for me and I become a lux traveler, I honestly don't think I would go beyond this kind of setup for the plane.

 

I've found that open headphones work fine on planes if the volume is turned up enough. The people sitting next to you might not like it, so check first. In my experience, they'll all be watching movies with earbuds anyway and won't care.

Who am I kidding? I usually wind up watching movies with earbuds too. The Big Lebowski at 30,000 feet? That's bucket list material, man. Watching Dr. Strangelove over the middle of the Pacific Ocean? That's one of those things that I didn't know that I wanted to do until I had the opportunity to do it. Hifi not required.

FWIW, I only fly a few times a year, but I'm away for months each time, so the plane ride isn't as important to me as the destination is. The last time that I flew was April and a X3 and Sennheiser 558 were sufficient, but I was still getting my feet wet. Next time that I fly, it will be with my 600's, a Mojo, and my Samsung S5. I'm not sure how that will sound on a plane yet, but it sounds damned good everywhere else. Endgame? Not really, no, but I can live with it.

 

For me:

• Surface Pro 3 or Lenovo Yoga 2 (in tablet mode)
• Geek Out 450
• Noble K10 custom
• Out Of Your Head software

Watching movies in full 7.1 surround is where it's at for me. I feel guilty that no one else can hear what I am hearing.
(Sorry about the shameless self-promotion of Out Of Your Head, but that's my "end game" setup for plane rides.)